Release Date: 1/27/2012
John Ottway (Liam Neeson) is a sharpshooter working for an oil refinery deep in the frozen wastelands of Alaska. Wielding a hunting rifle as he walks the refinery’s perimeter, Ottway slams bullets into the skulls of wild animals that threaten his fellow oil rig workers. Keeping predators at bay is what he’s good at. When their plane crashes in the remote Alaskan wilderness, Ottway leads an unruly group of surviving roughnecks, battling mortal injuries, merciless weather, icy elements — and a vicious pack of rogue wolves on the hunt — before their time runs out. The handful of men must now figure out how to survive.
A very well shot plane crash perfectly captures the intense disorientation and fear associated with such a disaster. Or so I imagine. Seriously though, this scene is not easy to get through. Several men survive, but Ottway is obviously the alpha. Ottway puts himself in charge. Not by default or because he’s the most outspoken, but out of his natural instinct to survive. He plans a course of action but demands no followers. Take it or leave it, but Ottway is the only one who actually knows what he’s talking about. Each passing hour gets harder. Battling the frigid elements is tough enough. Fighting off the the wolves is the real threat.
The Grey has great contrast. Liam Neeson, in the leading role, remains steely to the very end. With several minutes of voice-over in the beginning, Neeson’s gravel tone voice makes him sound worn and aged, which only adds to his tremendous intensity. Neeson’s Ottway abstains and remains above the fray, obsessivley rewinding to the woman who tragically got away. Watching his rabid eyes and coiled intensity, Neeson is almost more petrifying than the deadly wolves hunting him. Neeson brings a commanding sense of authority, but he’s also flanked by a supporting cast which anchors the film. Dermot Mulroney, Dallas Roberts and Frank Grillo are all sturdy with several scenes revealing a lot depth. There is a legitimate amount of character development with some pretty heavy emotion
The Grey looks and sounds like a tremendously difficult film to make. But for writer/director Joe Carnahan (Narc & Smokin’ Aces), the evidence is laid out on the screen. Carnahan filmed on location in the frozen tundra of British Columbia, where the temperatures were so cold that Carnahan actually felt warmer when his beard was frozen. Someone explain that please. The screenplay written by Carnahan and Ian Jeffers is considerably smarter than just the grizzled adventure thriller that the plot suggest. It may look like a simple genre story; a survivalist adventure, but it clearly has something more working beneath the surface. It’s a tense and gripping thriller with the essence of something out of a Hemingway novel. It’s emotionally contemplative and intelligent.
“Once more into the fray.
Into the greatest fight I will ever know.
Live and die on this day…
Live and die on this day…”
The Grey is the most terrifying man vs. nature thriller I’ve ever seen and its the best since Alec Baldwin and Anthony Hopkins battled the manhunting grizzly bear in The Edge. It is sure to be the surprise movie of the year. But if you do see this movie, make sure you stay until the end credits. Trust me.
What a way to kick-off 2012. Fuck faith. Earn it.
Rottentomatoes: 79%
IMDb: N/A
Movie Wiseguys: 8.5/10
